1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to holders for supporting elongated members in a generally upright position and, more particularly, to a portable holder for pool sticks that may be detachably connected to a table, ledge, or the like.
2. Prior Art
In the game of billiards or pool, it is common for a player not currently shooting to rest his cue or stick against a convenient support surface, such as the arm of a chair. Due to the tapered, cylindrical shape of the cue, the cue can easily roll along the support surface and fall to the floor resulting in damage or even breakage of the cue tip or the cue itself.
While only a single billiard cue or pool stick is necessary to play billiards, billiard players are predisposed to their own favorite cues for a variety of reasons. Increasingly, these cues have fancy and elaborate finishes and include coatings and inlays of precious and rare materials. The cues may be easily scratched or damaged. For these reasons, the cues must be handled and stored carefully.
Stationery and wall mounted cue holders are well known. While these holders serve their purpose, they have limitations. These holders may not be located near the area of play. Additionally, when players bring their own cues to a match, the stationery holder may not accommodate the number of cues.
What is needed is an easily repositionable holder which can securely hold a billiard or pool cue in a generally upright position when not in use so as to prevent the cue from falling to the floor. While racks are well known for supporting a number of billiard/pool cues when the cues are not in use, such racks are typically mounted in one location, such as on a wall, and away from the location of chairs typically situated around a billiard/pool table. Thus, it is inconvenient for a player to have to place his cue in a central rack each time he/she temporarily finishes shooting.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a holder for supporting an elongated object or member in a generally upright position that is easily repositionable and mountable on various support surfaces convenient to a user. It would also be desirable to provide a holder that prevents an elongated object supported in a generally upright position from falling to the floor. It would also be desirable to provide a holder that is specifically designated to support a billiard/pool cue in a generally upright position when the cue is not in use. It would also be desirable to provide a holder for supporting a billiard/pool cue that is easily and releasably mountable on a support surface. Finally, it would be desirable to provide a billiard/pool cue holder that is inexpensive in manufacturing cost and easy to use.
Accordingly, a need remains for a portable cue holder that may be transported to a desired site and may be detachably connected to nearly any flat surface for securely retaining a pool cue without scratching, marring or otherwise damaging the cue shaft.